The dangerous pollutant phenol and its derivatives can be found both in soil and in wastewater near industrial areas. The usage of biological preparations based on bacterial cultures may be the most effective way to remove phenolic contamination. However, there are some drawbacks to biological technologies, including a longer time required for degradation and the potential for certain toxicant to break down into more toxic by-products. Additionally, introducing enriched microbes to the contaminated soil can be challenging due to variations in environmental factors: pH, temperature, moisture content, nutrients. It was previously shown that cells of the Rhodococcus opacus 1CP strain have the ability to enter a dormant state under adverse conditions, and when re-introduced to a rich medium, they can quickly resume growth. Despite this, the preservation of destructive activity and the rate at which germinating cells of the R. opacus 1CP strain can decompose toxic substances remains poorly studied. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the viability and biodegradative activity against phenol of germinating immobilized and non-immobilized cells of the R. opacus 1CP strain after dormancy. Resting cells were obtained by simple cultivation in a rich medium followed by storage under static conditions. The induction of three phenol hydroxylases was detected by RT-PCR in cells germinated in a mineral medium with phenol as carbon source. The stability of the genome of cells germinating after dormancy is shown by box-PCR. Thus, dormant cells, both suspended and immobilized one, of R. opacus 1CP can be directly used for the decomposition of phenol after 4-12 months storage. In addition to phenol, germinating after 9 months of storage immobilized cells easily metabolized 4-chlorophenol and 2,4,6-trichlorophenol. The obtained data can be used to optimize bioremediation processes against phenolic pollutants.